About Me

I am a proud wife and mother, and a born again Christian. I work from home as a writer while taking care of Miss N, our six-year-old, Miss M, our four-year-old and Miss C, our newest bundle of joy. Life is crazy but so much fun!

Friday, October 28, 2011

I am at the 10 week mark! I know a lot of women who wait until they are 12 weeks to announce, and I am sure glad we didn't! I am already showing and it would be really hard to hide! I guess the extra "fluff" I was carrying around is getting pushed up and out by the baby! I am taking growth as a good sign and refusing to worry even though I haven't been to the doctor in about two weeks, which feels strange after the frequent visits before.

How far along? 10 weeksMaternity clothes?Yep. And apparently just wearing them makes me look pregnant because I am getting lots of comments. Not that I mind :)Sleep: Not too bad.

Best moment this week: Being able to pick up my babies again! It came at a good time too with one feeling pretty puny.

Movement: Too early

Gender: Unknown

Labor Signs: No way!What I miss : Chocolate. I guess that might be the only thing I miss for a while!

What I am looking forward to: The second trimester!Weekly Wisdom: Read this this week: Proverbs 24:3 "Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established:" Been thinking on it.

Milestones: Getting off of modified rest and not having any problems as I reintroduced activities.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

How do you go about meal planning? I find myself struggling in this. Here is what I have tried.

First, I tried a six-week rotation. It for some reason was really hard to stick with, and most nights I didn't feel like cooking whatever was on that night's list.

Then I tried e-mealz. Great concept, but we really found we were not enjoying the majority of the meals, or they were not the type of food I prefer to feed my family (filled with processed stuff. Now I am no natural food all the way type of person, but we are trying to make small changes and when your menu revolves around cream of xyz and Velveeta cheese, it's hard to stick with your goals). I am probably going to cancel my membership within the next month or two.

So, now I am stuck again! Part of the problem is my tummy is so upset that thinking about cooking and food is just hard. I also struggle to try new dishes because the kids never like them, and it's so hard to psend that time and energy in cooking only to have everyone complain. Hubby doesn't complain, but he's not overly complementary either. But I have a family and they need to eat, even if mommy doesn't feel well. How do you menu plan? Have you found a solution that works?

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Wednesday is my "flipping" day, or the day I change "weeks" in the pregnancy. Not much has changed but here is my "for me" update.

How far along? 9 weeksMaternity clothes?Got out the maternity jeans this week. They are adjustable waist so they are working pretty well. Not tops yet. No "basketball" to fill them. I'm definitely in the "is she gaining weight?" stage of pregnancy! Sleep: Good as long as I don't let my afternoon nap go too long.

Best moment this week: Miss M getting very excited when the doctor called with my preliminary blood work and it was "healthy."

Movement: Too early

Gender: Unknown

Labor Signs: No way!What I miss : Picking up my kids! Only one more week of restricted lifting if all continues going well.

What I am looking forward to: The second trimester!Weekly Wisdom: Being pregnant does not give you a right to be rude to your husband.

Monday, October 17, 2011

We had been having such a lovely day. I let the kids stay up during nap since they were obviously not tired, but they let me get work done, and in the morning while N was at school Miss M played so nicely and allowed me to get my chores done.

By about 2:00 I was tired of working and chores and decided to bake some pumpkin muffins. Miss N was playing computer and needed my help, so I went downstairs to help her. While I was down there, Miss M found the cinnamon that I had left out and poured some in a bowl. She was having a lot of fun measuirng it and pouring it with the utensils I had left out. I was annoyed at the mess but it was already there, so I let her play. She was having so much fun.

After a while she was pretty covered in it. She wanted more but I obviously didn't want to waste all of the cinnamon, so I gave her some flour. She played for probably an hour. When she was done I was cleaning her off. She had been playing in her undies only so her chest and thighs had a lot of cinnamon caked on them. I cleaned her up, then headed downstairs to watch sister play her game. I noticed that all of hte places where the cinnamon was caked on were covered in a hot, red rash. it was not hives, but something else. Then she said, "I don't feel good momma." Usually she will say that her "fever hurts" which is what she generally says when she doesn't feel well. This time she specifically said her "froat" hurt.

I called the pediatrician. Turns out, cinnamon is toxic if inhaled or taken in large doses. She had to go to the ER. I also gave her some benadryl.

I was pretty calm while driving, which is surprising, but I was obviously flustered because I left my purse at home. Kind of funny that I remembered to grab the girls' Leapsters so they would have something to do but left my purse.

When I was checking in and explaining everything, the lady behind the counter said she didn't know cinnamon could be toxic. That made me feel a tad better because I sort of felt like I should have known somehow that I shouldn't let her play with it.

Thankfully they put us on a "fast track" in the ER. Not sure why as her symptoms had totally cleared up by the time we got there thanks to the benadryl. However, she still had a red, irritated throat the doctor said, which required a strep test (negative). She's coughing and a little upset now, but all seems fairly well. I plan to give her some more benadryl at our bedtime just to be on the safe side, and until I talk to her pediatrician we will avoid having her eat any cinnamon. So strange!

Friday, October 14, 2011

Today I had my first official OB appointment. Everything went amazingly well. The little bean (size of a kidney bean at 8 weeks) is measuring about two days ahead, so might be another big baby, who knows. My blood pressure was great, I haven't really gained any weight in spite of all I have been eating, and the heart beat was right there beating along (181 ). Also, since my problems of earlier seem to have cleared up, I am only having to be on the modified rest for two more weeks instead of four! Woo hoo!

I am now officially a "normal" OB patient. That means no more weekly trips to the doctor, no more worries (ha!), and no more scans every time I go in. That last part is a little sad, but I am so thankful to be having a healthy pregnancy!

So, I am going to start to blog weekly about my pregnancy. This is mostly for me, so feel free to ignore if you are bored by it :)

How far along? 8 weeksMaternity clothes? I'm thinking it's time. . . at least for the pants. I can't fill out the shirts by my nausea is considerably worse with regular pants on.

Sleep: Pretty good - lots of trips to the potty during the night.

Best moment this week: Seeing the baby twice as big as it was last week on the ultrasound this week. Being released as a "normal" ob patient.

Movement: Too early

Gender: Unknown

Labor Signs: No way!What I miss : Chocolate! It's making me ill so I had to give it up. Feeling good in general. I'm not that sick (I have friends who are much sicker) but I would like to be able to not feel ill for a full day.

What I am looking forward to: The second trimester!Weekly Wisdom: It's ok to rely on other people when you are not feeling well. This is temporary, but nonetheless real.

Milestones: Tim and my dad are almost done installing our reverse osmosis filter (we received for FREE!) so no more worries about our nasty carcinogen filled tap water! (For those who think I am being over protective, we get a notice every year about the carcinogens in our water!)

Monday, October 10, 2011

This was too funny not to share. We were out to lunch yesterday with my parents who are visiting, and Miss N was telling my mom all about the baby and how much she wants a baby brother. My mom said, "Well what if it is a girl?"

Miss N: "Well, then we will just give the baby to someone else! We have enough girls in this house!"

Friday, October 7, 2011

I have a confession to make. I am irritable with this early stage of pregnancy. Part of it is nerves, and part of it is hormones, and part of it is the exhaustion. Also, part of it is sin and I am praying daily to watch my tongue and patience with my kids. But I'm grumpy.

I was telling Tim last night about how I feel about this, and his response, "It's all a part of the process." So accepting and simple. Instead of being highly annoyed with me (as perhaps he had a right to be) he just accepts this as par for the course for growing a baby.

Miss N took the ultrasound pictures to school today (she wanted to, it was not my suggestion, and I cleared it with her teacher first, who of course was out today but what can you do?) She is very excited about the baby. Although, the other night when I was having my issue and we could not go to church, I told her we couldn't go because mommy wasn't feeling well. Her response? "Sheesh, you are always not feeling well. When will you get better? When the baby comes out? That is already taking FOREVER!" She's got a lot to learn if a week is forever!

I am thinking about letting her and maybe Miss M come to the 20 week ultrasound. I think Miss N would think it is really cool. Anyone done that before with an older kid? She will be close to 6 at that time.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Well, we have told, we have told the girls, and now I wonder if we did the right thing. Sure, there was a beating heart, but really, I saw nothing that looked like a baby. Now, I have read about women who had losses after seeing the beating heart.

Remember when I said that trusting God had to be a minute by minute thing? I am starting to have one of those days today. I think because the tiredness is not as intense, so I "feel" less pregnant. Maybe part of it is that it has been nearly a week since I have been to the doctor, heard good or bad news, etc. I cannot see what is going on inside me. I am having to give Him everything.

My biggest fear? Honestly, it's no longer how I will survive another loss should it happen. It's how I will tell my kids. Both of them are excited and are talking about "the news" as Miss N says and "You have a baby in your belly" as Miss M says.

Update:

Last night I had some signs of a possible complication. I called the doctor and at first they wanted me to go to the ER, then they changed their mind and said to come to the office first thing in the morning. I did. They did the ultrasound and the baby was there with it's little heart beating away (151). She did an exam as well and verified my concerns. At this point everything looks fine but because of the symptoms I am having, I have to be on modified rest until I reach 12 weeks. No lifting anything over 10 pounds and no heavy exercise. That's five more weeks! I am so thankful that the baby is looking great at this point, though.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

So, it seems every time I have been pregnant the "do and don't eat" list has changed. Lunch time is a huge struggle for me right now!

My go-to meal is usually a nice salad, but right now scares of listeria and lettuce make me nervous. So, my second go-to meal is a turkey sandwich, but lunchmeat is a no-no unless you heat it (not my favorite). So, I also love tuna, and i remembered you were allowed some tuna but not tons when I was pregnant with Miss M. Google says otherwise - apparently that rule has changed as well!

So tell me, what's a girl to eat? I guess it is going to be PB&J or grilled cheese for the next nine months!